The moon hung heavy in the sky, bathing the Shadowfang Pack’s great hall in an eerie silver glow. Flames flickered in the massive iron sconces, their light casting long shadows across the stone walls. The air was thick with the scent of roasted venison, aged wine, and the unmistakable musk of wolves gathered in celebration.

But this wasn’t just any gathering. A massive black banner stretched across the hall, golden letters gleaming in the firelight—

WELCOME HOME, LYRA & ELIAS.

My nails dug into my palms, the sharp sting grounding me as I stood at the entrance.

Fourteen days. That was all it took for Rafael to forget. To erase our daughter as if she had never existed.

The scent of his presence overwhelmed me. Dominant. Familiar. A force I had once found comfort in. Now, it made my stomach churn.

He stood in the center of the great hall, his black tunic and battle leathers making him look every inch the Alpha he was. Strong. Powerful. Untouchable. And beside him, wrapped in a crimson silk gown, was her. Lyra.

She had one hand delicately resting on his arm, her emerald eyes glowing with satisfaction, her lips curled into a soft, victorious smile.

I pushed past the guards at the entrance, ignoring their hesitant glances. My heeled boots struck against the polished stone floor, each step sending a sharp echo through the now-silent hall.

The music faltered. The chatter died. Then the crack of my palm against Lyra’s cheek shattered the silence.

A collective gasp rippled through the gathered wolves. Warriors tensed, elders exchanged glances, and the scent of unease spread through the room.

Lyra’s head snapped to the side, a red mark blooming across her pale skin. For a moment, she looked stunned. Then, her lips parted, and like the manipulative viper she was, her breath hitched in a perfectly rehearsed sob.

“Camilla—” Rafael’s voice was sharp, a growl rumbling beneath it. I ignored him.

“How dare you?” My voice shook with fury, my wolf rising beneath my skin, clawing to be unleashed. “You stand here celebrating while my daughter—our daughter—is in the ground?”

My breath hitched, but I forced myself to keep going. “You didn’t even give me a moon cycle, Rafael. Not even one month to grieve before you parade her around—” My voice cracked, raw and broken. “As if Amber never existed.”

Lyra let out a strangled gasp before—she collapsed dramatically to the ground.

A whimper. A tremble. A delicate hand pressed to her cheek.

“Oh, Goddess!” she sobbed, her shoulders shaking violently. “She attacked me! Right here! In front of the entire pack!”

And then a blur of movement. Small fists slammed into my stomach. “You monster!” Elias.

His small frame trembled with rage as he hit me again, his tiny fists pounding against my ribs. “You hurt my mama! You’re a bad person! My papa doesn’t love you anymore!”

Pain shot through my side, but I barely reacted.

I didn’t fight back. I wouldn’t. Even if he was hers. Even if he was his.

The guards hesitated, uncertain if they should intervene. But Rafael? He did nothing. Just watched.

Elias’s hands clenched, his voice cracking. “I hate you! You deserve to be alone forever!”

My breath shuddered as I looked up—just in time to catch her smirk.

Lyra’s lips curled in triumph for the briefest second before she whimpered and clung to Rafael’s side like a fragile flower.

“Rafael,” she whispered, “make her stop.”

His body stiffened. His golden eyes darkened.

And then the slap came. Fast. Brutal.

Pain exploded across my cheek, my head snapping to the side. My vision blurred, my skin burning where his hand had struck. The entire hall fell into a suffocating silence.

I lifted my gaze slowly, my heart pounding against my ribs. But Rafael didn’t look regretful. Didn’t look anything. His expression was cold. Distant. Like I was nothing to him. Like I hadn’t been his mate. Like I hadn’t carried his child.

His next words sliced through me like a blade “This ends tonight.”

A ripple of unease spread through the crowd. Whispers. Murmurs. Then Rafael stepped forward, his eyes glowing with dominance.

His power rolled off him in waves, suffocating, demanding. The moment I saw his posture shift, the truth slammed into me like a death blow.

He wasn’t going to banish me. He was going to reject me.

I sucked in a sharp breath, my hands curling into fists. My wolf whimpered in protest, clawing at my mind, desperate to fight it.

“No,” I whispered, shaking my head. “You wouldn’t—”

His golden eyes met mine, and for the first time since Amber’s death, I saw nothing behind them. Nothing but resolve.

“I, Rafael Thornfield, Alpha of the Shadowfang Pack, reject you, Camilla Wolfhart, as my mate and Luna.”

The words came out like thunder, shaking the air itself. A collective gasp echoed through the room.

Pain ripped through me like claws dragging through my soul. My wolf howled in agony, the bond between us shredding apart, severed by his command. My legs nearly buckled, my vision swaying from the sheer force of it.

I clenched my jaw, swallowing the scream that threatened to tear from my throat. I wouldn’t break. Not here. Not in front of her.

Rafael took another step forward, his gaze impassive. “Leave, Camilla,” he said, voice devoid of emotion. “You are no longer part of this pack.”

The words were final. Cold. Like a death sentence. The wolves around us shifted uncomfortably, some avoiding my gaze, others looking at Rafael as if he had just signed away something sacred. And maybe he had.

I forced myself to straighten, lifting my chin. My hands trembled, my breathing uneven, but I met his eyes head-on.

“You’ll regret this,” I whispered, my voice shaking with barely contained fury.

He said nothing. Did nothing. He simply turned his back on me. Just like he had with Amber.

And as I stood there, surrounded by whispers and judgment, I realized something.

Rafael, the mate I once loved, was dead to me. And if he thought I would walk away quietly…

He had no idea what I was capable of.

The wind howled through the trees, carrying the distant scent of the pack I once called home. The moon was beginning its descent, casting silver light over the forest path ahead, but the road behind me was already gone. I had nothing left to return to.

I had lost everything. Amber. My rank. My purpose. Rafael had discarded me as if I had never meant anything to him.

I pressed my hand against the side of my face, where his slap had left a sting beneath my skin. The physical pain was nothing compared to what he had done to my heart. He had looked at me with disgust, chosen them over me, as if I were nothing more than a forgotten memory.

No longer his mate. No longer his Luna. No longer his.

I gritted my teeth and tightened my grip on the satchel slung over my shoulder. Inside, I carried the only things that mattered anymore—the last remnants of Amber’s life. Her tiny cloak, the wooden wolf figurine she had carved, the pieces of her childhood that I refused to let be swallowed by time. Rafael could take everything else—his title, his pack, his kingdom of lies.

But he would never take her from me.

And this? This wasn’t over. My legs ached from walking, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t. My mind was a whirlwind of the past, each moment twisting into something more unbearable than the last. I had spent years at Rafael’s side, believing in him, loving him. And what had it meant? Nothing.

I reached into my cloak and pulled out a rune stone, the edges smooth against my fingers. Closing my eyes, I pressed my thumb against its surface. A familiar pulse of magic burned through my veins before a voice echoed in my mind.

“Didn’t expect to hear from you again.”

“Raoul,” I said, forcing my voice to remain steady. “I need your help. I need to disappear,” I murmured. “Completely.”

A slow exhale. “So you finally see it, huh?”

“Just tell me you can do it.”

“Leave it to me.”

The rune stone cracked, the magic severing as I tossed it to the ground. There was no turning back now. By sunrise, the world would believe I was gone. But I wasn’t running. I was preparing for war.

Raoul was waiting for me at the edge of a forgotten road, his cloak drawn tight against the chill of the early morning. His silver eyes studied me as I approached, taking in my ragged state without a word.

“You look like death,” he muttered, tossing a waterskin in my direction.

“Fitting,” I replied, catching it.

He smirked, but there was something sharper behind his amusement. “Everything’s ready.”

I followed his gaze to the wagon behind him. My stomach clenched as I pulled back the cloth covering its cargo. A body.

A young woman, similar in size, close enough in appearance that no one would question it once the flames did their work. She had been dead before I arrived, her fate sealed long before I decided to take advantage of it.

The weight in my chest threatened to crush me, but guilt had no place here. This was survival.

Raoul watched me carefully. “Last chance to back out.”

“There’s no going back,” I said, voice flat.

He studied me for a long moment before nodding. “Then let’s make you a ghost.”

The cliffs were silent except for the river raging below, its currents merciless against the jagged rocks. A fitting place to stage a tragedy.

Raoul worked swiftly, dousing the wagon and the corpse in oil laced with wolfsbane. It would burn fast and hot, leaving no room for doubt. By the time anyone found what remained, there would be only one conclusion—Camilla Wolfhart had died here.

But before the fire consumed the last of my old life, I had one final thing to do.

One last message. I pressed my fingers against the blood rune on my wrist, summoning the remnants of the bond that still tied me to him.

For a moment, nothing. “Rafael isn’t available,” a voice purred, dripping with venom.

My stomach twisted. “Lyra.”

Her soft laugh curled around me like smoke. “Still clinging to the past?”

“Put him on,” I said, forcing the command into my voice.

“Why?” she taunted. “So he can remind you what you are? So he can tell you how easily you were replaced?”

I gritted my teeth. “You think this is over?”

Lyra sighed dramatically. “Oh, Camilla. It already is.”

I stayed silent, waiting. And then she delivered the killing blow. “Strange, isn’t it? The way your daughter died?” Her voice was coated in amusement. “Considering Elias was never sick.”

The world slowed. My breath hitched. “What did you say?”

She giggled, delighted. “We made it up. And Rafael? He never even questioned it.”

Something deep inside me snapped. Amber had died for nothing.

Rafael had given her blood away for a child who hadn’t even needed it. They had murdered my daughter with lies.

The bond severed. Silence rang in my ears. My vision blurred, the night tilting as white-hot rage overtook everything.

I didn’t scream. I didn’t weep. I only burned.

Raoul’s gaze sharpened as he took in my expression. “Still sure about this?”

I met his eyes, my voice deadly calm. “Light it.”

He didn’t hesitate. The spark flew, and the flames erupted instantly, consuming the wagon in seconds. Heat roared against my skin, but I didn’t move, watching as the fire devoured the past.

By the time anyone found what was left, there would be no doubt.

Camilla Wolfhart was gone. And Rafael would feel nothing because this wasn’t about him.

This was about me. About Amber.

About every single moment I had wasted loving a man who had never deserved me.

By the time dawn crested over the horizon, I was gone. Raoul moved fast, slipping me through the rogue networks where no Shadowfang scout would find me.

A new name. A new purpose. A new beginning.

I stood before the mirror of a nameless inn, running my fingers through my now raven-black hair. My once-golden strands, the ones Rafael had always twined around his fingers, whispering empty promises, were gone. That woman was gone.

I leaned in closer, my lips curling at the sight of the stranger before me.

The world thought Camilla Wolfhart had perished in the fire. But the woman who rose from the ashes was just getting started.